Impact of organizational vitality on Black voter turnout in the South

Abstract

In the voting behaviour literature, political organizations are often mentioned as playing an important role in mobilizing a deactivated electorate. Nevertheless, researchers have paid little attention to the relationship between organization strength and Black voter participation. In this study, a direct test of the organizational strength hypothesis is examined by utilizing official voter turnout data at the county level from the November 2004 elections. Controlling for socio-demographic factors, campaign factors and the impact of Black Churches, the findings show that there is a positive and significant relationship between political organizations and Black turnout. The findings suggest that the Democratic Party and civil rights organizations can play a critical role in promoting Black turnout if they improve upon their organizational features.